Fighting to change your perspective!

Well, thanks so much for that email this morning Katie...that's so awesome...and really makes you think...here's the story for everyone else...

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live.They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Wow...how powerful is that...and how true!! Just this week I was reading a sermon God gave me months ago that I've been waiting for the right time to preach. I'd forgotten I had written it and found it and read it...then just today the opportunity has come up in which I will now get to preach it in about 2 weeks time. How awesome! My sermon is all about what we want in life and where we look for it! The 3 biggest things we want in life is
1. To feel important
2. To be happy
3. To live life to the full
Those are great things to want, but sometimes we really need to take a long hard look at where we are looking to find those things. What is our perspective? Have we lost our perspective?

The first thing we want is to feel important. How funny is it that we so often feel unimportant in the place we're in or in the position we're in. In 1 Corinthians it speaks about the parts of the body and how important each part is...how the ear cannot say to the eye, 'I'm not important cause I'm not an eye' We were never intended to have one big undimensional warped body part...all of our body parts serve their purpose...right down to our eyelashes...which seem insignificant and yet the protect our eyes. In the same way, have we lost our perspective a little by thinking that our seemingly 'small' role in the big scheme of things is not important?? 'I'm not building the Kingdom from here' ...why not?? Think about what it is that God's asked you to do. We have a lady in our church who does up the powerpoint every week. Very rarely do people take the time to say to her 'Hey, good job on power point this week!' She could take that and think, 'Stuff this...I'm not important and my role doesn't mean anything to the Kingdom of God so I'm not needed!' The truth is, she IS needed! Without her we wouldn't have PPT...without her we'd maybe go back to over head slides...or maybe someone else MIGHT find the time to do it amongst everything else they need to do...but by doing what she does, she not only keeps things up to date for us and gives us a great PPT presentation every week, but she makes things easier here in the office for us or whoever's preparing the meeting that week. Her role is important...it's her ministry!! Why do we look at what we're NOT doing instead of looking at what we COULD be doing...! God puts us where we are for a reason...and He happens to think we're important enough to be there!!

The second thing people want is to be happy...have you ever heard someone say, 'Happiness is a state of mind!' So if that's true then why do we look to find happiness in a few plastic notes and a few gold and silver coins?? Why do we believe that being thin and beautiful makes you happy? Driving the right car, owning the right house and furniture makes you happy...in Ecclesiastes 3:11-12 it says:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.

He has set eternity on our hearts...he believes that you are beautiful! When you get to heaven God won't be asking you how much money you earned or what clothes you wore or what car you drove or even the house you lived in...what He will want to know is 'What did you do with Jesus?' What will you say? ‘Well, I didn’t have time to think about that God, I was just trying to make as much money as I could and be as trendy as I could and as cool as I could and trying to find the right life partner so that I could be happy’…do you think God will understand that? Or do you think He’ll say ‘I was your life partner…your eternal life partner! I set eternity on your heart! What more did you want??!! What more could have made you happy??’

We have this unsurpassing joy and happiness in Jesus Christ. We need to look deeper and grab hold of it. Stop looking at what you don’t have and start looking at what you do have! Stop dwelling on the bumps in the road and start checking out the view! Decide to be happy! Think about what Christ has done and what He offers you and be happy because nothing could make you happier...truly!!

The third thing that people want is to live life to the full...and man, is the worlds perspective messed up here or WHAT?!?! How do you live life to the full? Well, you go out to as many parties as you can possibly get to for as many years as you can handle, drinking as much as you can, having multiple partners, living life dangerously. Taking risks! Trying drugs at least once to see what its like and to be able to say ‘I tried that’. That’s not a full life. That’s not what God had in mind. At some point you’re going to be forced to look deep into your life and you will realise how hollow your life has become. I know, I lived that life! I threw God away. Wanted nothing to do with Him. I smoked, I got drunk, I partied, I got involved with boys. Then, one day God broke through. He cried out to me and pleaded with me to reassess my life and take Him back! I looked at my life which I thought was full and realised that I’d taken everything out of it. I was an empty shell! All I’d been doing was digging a bigger hole! There was nothing left! I had to grab Gods hand otherwise I would have been lost forever.

God sent Jesus so that we might have life and have it to the fullest! In John 10:10 it says:

“The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

God has said that He wants us to have a full life! He doesn’t want us to have empty meaningless lives! He wants us to live life and live it to the fullest! That’s nothing new. Living life to the full is not a new trendy concept! Its God’s concept! But we’ve misinterpreted it! We’ve tried to live life to the full without God in the picture! We just can’t do it!! We have to have God in our life! Without Him we are nothing!

Is it possible to live life to the full without compromising your standards? Is it possible to live life to the full without conforming to the world and its crazy notions of what you must do and have and be to live a happy life? Is it possible to live life to the full as an influencer and not as one easily influenced? The answer is YES! When you have a life with Christ your life is full! You just need to CHOOSE Him!!

Choose to change your perspective...choose to understand your importance in His Kingdom...choose to be happy...choose real life to the full!! Change your perspective!

Fighting for the cause!

Check this out!!!...what a great clip...

Kristo Movie Clip

Fighting for scripture in schools!

WOO...I'm on a roll...2 blogs in 2 days...tehehe...

Well, I had the best day today...kinda funny moment just 5 minutes ago when I received a phone call from a local gym to say that a MALE friend of mine had passed on my number to suggest I join...how embarrassing...haha...but kinda funny too...I've never had a gym call and say 'Do you need to join?' haha...it's like 'HEY you big tub of goo...get off your butt and join the gym!!!' hahaha...well, actually, I've wanted to join for a while, just the money things an issue...but its not too bad in price...so, why not! tehe...I'm going in tomorrow...must have been a God thing really, cause as I said, I have wanted to join but didn't cause I can't afford it...but it's so cheap...and I need to get into shape and get fit and more energetic...so yeah, it's all good...I'm actually kind of excited! :D tehehe...

Anyway...in other, more exciting news...scripture today went off!! WOOHOO!! Ok, just for those who don't know, I teach scripture at my local high school and primary school on Wednesday's and Thursday's. I teach Thursday's at the primary school with a Kindergarten class. They're so cute...not all well behaved...haha...but they are cute...I love them...and I am with them once a fortnight so that's great. I teach Wednesday's at the High School and this is not as easy as the primary school...we are only allowed to have one grade per term, which is really NOT ideal because you only see each grade 4 times a year...and they choose if they come or not, so it really depends on what the other class is that they're missing. They mostly come cause they think they can 'bludge'. So, they run riot basically. It's not very good...I mean, they go nuts!! They have no respect for us, or even for their teachers and the school doesn't care about scripture either...they are really slack with allocating us a permanant room and also with announcing scripture etc. So it's a really hard situation.

BUT...today was awesome...we had grade 7, and let me tell you, for the most part, they were no different to any other situation in that school...they mucked up, they ran riot...they were just CRAZY!! But they were working on some stuff in pairs and I was walking around the classroom (it's actually a drama room with no tables and chairs...again, not ideal because they run a muck) anyway...I sat down with these two girls and they started asking HEAPS of questions...I had an answer for all of them...it was AWESOME...God just TOTALLY guided me...and I even got to share part of my testimony with them...how cool!! They were heaps shocked...every time I sat down to talk to them in group work time they had more questions...and really GREAT questions too...I got to tell them what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus...and how we know He's real...and how we can experience Him...it was just SO awesome...I couldn't stop smiling everytime they asked me another question...I was like 'I'm so glad you asked that...let me explain...' It was SO great!! Then AFTER class they stayed in for their whole first lunch break and asked MORE questions...it was awesome...they couldn't get enough...they just wanted to know more!! And I have to say this, these two girls were pretty popular too...they weren't the kinda girls who sit in the front row behaving the whole time and asking all the right questions to please the teacher...they were mucking up a bit throughout the lesson too...but they wanted to know more and it was SO awesome to tell them...even if it has no effect right now, they KNOW what Jesus has to offer!! It was SO great!! I'm so excited...

AND THEN...it keeps going...well, actually it's all over the place...but anyway...just before class a young girl came up to me (she's in a different grade) who had been to Flipside before, our lunch time program, and she hadn't been back since...she's a friend of one of the girls I mentor in my youth...I've been trying to encourage this girl that I mentor to bring her friends back to Flipside...and speaking of flip side...today her friend asked HER to go to Flipdside with her...she didn't just ask...she hassled this girl I mentor to come to Flipside...how cool is that!! SO, she came and saw me before I started the scripture class and told me that another one of my youth had invited her to come to Youth Group on Friday night and guess what? SHE'S COMING!! WOOHOO!!! AND...she might be coming to church on Sunday cause it's being led by the youth and her friend, the girl I mentor, will be helping lead!! WOOHOO!! What an opportunity!!

I just have to say...if you have spare time in your week to get involved in High School or Primary School Ministries like scripture or a lunch time program then PLEASE do it!! And look around...pray about which school is right...I have a real heart for both the schools I'm in because they are literally on our doorstep...the primary school is next door to our church and the high school is directly across the road from the primary school...both schools have a bad reputation for bad behaviour and all sorts of crazy things...I hear about girls slitting their wrists etc...it's not good...and would you believe that, for that reason, so many people won't touch these schools cause they're too hard to handle...well, I wanna ask...where is the love??!! Man, these young people DESPERATELY need to hear the gospel and yet people overlook them cause they're 'trouble makers'...hey, if Jesus could tell Zacchaeus to get out of a tree and take him home for dinner even though he was a trouble maker, then we SHOULD be showing that same love and grace for these lost kids!! That's why I am in these schools...it's hard...but I love them...and I'm there to tell them that not only do I love them, but the one GREATER than me loves them with a PERFECT love!! A love I am not capable of giving...a pure love! And it's available for them...get excited about this, guys...and think outside the box...every school will be different...dont think of a lunch time or scripture program being something boring...try new programs...look into the SHINE program for girls with Hillsong...find out about the equivellant for boys...hang out with these kids and teens...show them you genuinely care...and remember, it's not a game...it's not about numbers or about saying how many you 'won for Christ'...it's about people...genuinely loving people enough to direct them to eternal life with Jesus!! If you're not genuine about that then DON'T DO IT!! Cause you're wasting your time and people will see straight through you!! Be real!! They're not stupid and they only have to be burnt once to NEVER come back again!

These young people are SO troubled...and you're not going to be the one to reach them all, but if you can influence and impact even a handful, and empower them enough, then THEY will be the ones, through peer to peer evangelism, who will impact the rest of the school...start small...but believe BIG!! Don't be discouraged at small and humble beginnings because if you're being guided by God, you WILL see the VICTORY!! WOOHOO!!!

Go hard for God...fight for opportunities...get on board in your local schools and impact this young generation of lost souls for Christ!!

Fighting to hear someone's story

Well, I had an awesome and painful day yesterday...I got my needles for my trip to Botswana...OUCH...suffering from a very sore arm today...but the needles were not as bad as I'd imagined...and I didn't pass out...tehe...so that was good! :D

So, now to the awesome part...after I got my needles I went to catch my train home and I needed to go to the bathroom...there are toilets on the train and if I went to the ones on the platform I would miss the train...but for some reason I really didn't want to use the ones on the train...so I decided to miss my train and wait half an hour for the next one. After I went to the bathroom I felt like buying a muesli bar at the Newsagent...mmm...strawberry yoghurt covered muesli bar....tehe...anyway, I went to buy it and there was an elderly lady at the counter who was being given directions to somewhere by the man at the counter. She looked really confused and then she looked at me and I smiled. She looked at me as if to say 'I think this girl knows!' and she said to me 'Do you know where The Salvation Army is?' I couldn't believe it! I told her I did and asked her to wait a minute while I payed for my stuff and that I'd walk her there. This was going to mean missing another train...but I really felt that this was a God ordained opportunity and that I should walk with her for a while.

We started to walk and she explained that she had a muscular disease of some sort meaning that she needed to walk slow because her legs were sore. That was ok. I felt like I could've walked her to the moon and back at snails pace...God was giving me an opportunity to walk with this lady...I really didn't care how long it took! As we walked she shared her story about how she lives in a housing commission house and she has been through ordeal after ordeal. She had been treated unfairly by several people and her husband had told her to forget about it and get over it. But she wanted to stand up for her rights and she knew that she had to seek help. Hence the reason she was looking for the Salvos. She unloaded alot of stuff, and I just listened. I really think she just needed someone to take time out without their own agenda and just listen to her pour her heart out. I think that most people would have just shrugged her off...but all I could see in this woman was Jesus.

"...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' - Jesus... Matthew 25:20

We finally got to THQ (yes, that's right Alisha...I went to THQ!! But my mobile was dead...I couldn't call you!) I got to the front desk and told them who I was and who this lady was and he referred me to Street Level in Sydney...ofcourse!!!...I hadn't even remembered Street Level was there. But, I phoned them from THQ and they were shut! I looked at this woman sitting in her seat, tears welling up in her eyes because she knew I was going to tell her she had to wait...but she'd told me already told me where she lived and I knew of a community centre there and I knew exactly where it was...so I asked her if she could get there and she said she could get there easily...so I suggested that she go home and then go to this centre the next day. She agreed.

So, I walked her to the train station again. As I walked with her I told her that she didn't deserve to be treated the way she had been and that God loved her so much and wouldn't want her to be treated that way. I told her I believe that God would look after her and that she would find the help she needed. She told me that she believed that and she told me that she thought I must have been an angel sent by God to help her. I told her it was my pleasure to walk with her, trying not to take any credit for the chain of events, I told her I believed that it was God ordained...I caught the train with her from Museum to Central and then I left her on the train to get to where she was going. She looked at me all teary-eyed and thanked me and told me that it was so great that we had met. I wished her God's blessing and told her that He would look after her and keep her safe and then I left.

I have to say, I left feeling both blessed and saddened. I left thinking about how much of a blessing it was that I had met her...but also feeling so worried that she wouldn't find the help she needed and that someone else may not find the time to give her. So I prayed that God would keep her safe and comfort her and that she would find the help she needed. When I got back to Gosford I quickly went into the office to check my emails. I have my home page set as www.verseoftheday.com and so I looked at the devotions for the day and the scripture reference was: Psalm 34:18

The LORD is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

I couldn't help but smile. I knew that she really was in His hands and that He was close beside her. Part of the prayer to go with the devotions was:

Father, I also ask that you bless those I know who are struggling with their faith, and with broken and disappointed hearts. Please be active in their lives and make your presence known in their lives.

What an awesome God...I had only walked a short journey with that woman and it would have been enough for God to leave it there. He didn't need to tell me the rest...He didn't need to tell me she was ok...He could've just asked me to trust and not know...but He responded to my prayer from earlier that afternoon to tell me that He was, in fact, caring for this woman and that she was safe in His arms of love!

WOW! I feel so blessed to have been there at that moment. To have made such a seemingly silly decision to use a bathroom that meant an extra half hour wait for the next train. To have thought, 'Hmmm, a muesli bar sounds really good right now!' To have been served by a guy that would've got this lady lost. To have smiled at her. That she knew that I would know where to take her. That she dared to ask. That I dared to say yes! That's all it took. A simple yes and a willing heart and what a journey! A short, but blessed one!

Let me encourage you to not look over those less fortunate. Take one of them for a walk. Offer to have a coffee with one of them. Your shout! Take time to let them share their life with you. Don't be scared of the unknown...they smell, they're a stranger...they're a drunk...God loves them just the same! We should too...and remember...

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. - Hebrews 13:2

Bless you all as you fight to bless others!

Fighting to build Him a house!!

Over the last few days I have experienced a number of emotions. Joy, happiness, hurt, sadness, disappointment and then joy again! Praise God for that joy. A few days ago (Sunday) a beautiful lady in my church approached me to tell me that she had been up all night wrestling with God and that she and her husband were going to give me a loan for the rest of my money to get to Botswana. No pressure to pay it back...just whenever I can. It was a complete answer to prayer. But, as quickly as my joy came, satan came to take it away again. That night I was hit with a couple of things and I was really hurt and disappointed and to be honest, felt completely let down. I tried to push it aside and I had fun catching up with some mates, but I couldn't get rid of that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. BUT...bring on the JOY!!

On Monday I had a study day...not a very productive time of study I must say...but productive in other ways. My mind was completely scattered with thoughts of other things and I couldn't focus, so I decided that I needed to deal with it then and there and not let it fester in my heart. I prayed and asked that God would speak to me and that He would show me what to do and He gave me a whole chapter...now, I'm still unwrapping the rest, but I just took time yesterday to discover and understand just one part of the chapter...the rest I am going to spend time unwrapping a bit at a time...it's pretty full on! But here's what I discovered from Isaiah 66:1-2

'This is what the Lord says: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.'

WOW! Think about that for a minute. Take time to really meditate on that piece by piece. This is what the LORD says...ok brace yourself...cause this is the LORD speaking!! It's gonna be awesome! It's gonna be mind boggling. Do you ever feel excited when you open the Word and read 'This is what the LORD says'? I have to admit, I don't always feel excited...cause I often just don't think about or grasp the significance behind it. This is not just Paul or John writing something. This isn't just Moses or Abraham speaking. This is the LORD speaking. And I don't know about you, but right now I'm excited. I want to KNOW what the LORD has to say to me! I want to KNOW what the LORD has in store for ME in this small part of His Word. The LORD is taking time to speak to us here. I want to KNOW what He wants me to know! So, this is what the LORD says...

Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool

WOAH!! Picture that! The earth is His FOOTSTOOL! Do you have that image in your head? God resting His feet on the earth? Think about the size of a footstool you have at home, or you've seen in someone elses home. Seems small. The EARTH is God's footstool! Doesn't that completely BLOW YOUR MIND!! Do you realise how BIG God is and how insignificant we are? Do you realise that He could squash us at any given moment? Do you realise just how mighty He is? And yet, despite our insignificance in His eyes we are SO significant! In His eyes we are amazing. In His eyes we are beautiful. In His eyes we are worth more than gold or silver. In His eyes we are worth sending His Son as a living sacrifice for us...so that we could live! That would be like us caring for a bunch of ants. Taking time to talk to them and care for them and make sure that they don't get in the way of any big feet. Giving up one of our own to save the life of an ant. Sounds a bit silly doesn't it? But, friends, that's how God is with us. He takes the time to care for us and love us and make sure that we aren't being crushed by satan. Heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool! He has the power to do anything!! And He puts all that power into US! Into loving us and protecting us! What an awesome God!!

Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be?

Well, here's a challenge. Heaven is His throne and the earth is His footstool. How could we build Him a house or a dwelling or resting place that would be fit for Him? I mean, think about what He's worth for a minute!....You can't! Cause He's worth far more than we can humanly imagine or give. So how do we build a house that He can dwell in? A house that's fit for Him? How do we build something that's of worth to Him? Well, the thing is, we can't! BUT...we CAN give ALL that we've got to Him! Don't hold back...make a dwelling place for Him in your heart! No matter what it looks like...if it's all you have to give then give it and He will know what the cost was for you to give that to Him. If it cost you everything, then it's good enough for Him. If you're still holding back, well, He still loves you, but He's asking for MORE! He wants your ALL!! Have you done that? Before you go any further...have YOU made a dwelling place in your heart for the Lord? Is He asking you, 'Where's my house? Where will I rest with you?' Do you have a place in your heart for the KING OF KINGS?? Have you built Him a house?

Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD.

Oh, Katie you are SO right!! I LOVE that word: DECLARES!! It's so much more than just, 'My Lord SAID...' or 'My Lord told me...' My Lord DECLARES!! WOW!! Here He is DECLARING...making a BOLD statement! Here's a few other words found in the thesaurus for DECLARES...PROCLAIM...PROFESS...STATE...AFFIRM...and the list goes on...The Lord DECLARES...He professes...that His hand has made ALL things and that He is King over ALL!! He affirms us!! What an AWESOME GOD!! It's funny, isn't it, that we forget about the awesome POWER of God? We forget that by His HAND ALL things came into being!! By His hand He can do all things!! I could point you to all the scripture that restates that...but I want to encourage you to get in and find it yourself...discover that God!! Read His Word and unwrap what He has done! Find out about our AWESOME God who made ALL things...who clicked His fingers and designed the universe!! Pretty amazing huh?!

This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.

WOW...what a challenge! To be HUMBLE and CONTRITE in spirit...Man, we could all learn such a lesson from that. How to practice humility...The only example I can lead you to is Jesus! In John 13 Jesus washes His disciples feet. He gets down and humbles Himself (although, He was ALREADY humble!) and He washed His disciples feet! What an honour that would have been! Man, I'd never wash my feet again!! And then Jesus turned and said to His disciples...

I have set you an example that you should do as I have done

Now, if JESUS can get on His hands and knees and wash the disciples feet when it should have been the other way around, then we can get off our butts and do the same for our fellow brothers and sisters! We need to GET OVER OURSELVES!! We need to STOP thinking we're better than other people or holier than thou...REALITY CHECK!! You are a SERVANT...that's right...you're NOT the King! You're His SERVANT!! Don't expect everyone to serve you! YOU should be serving THEM! There's nothing that frustrates me more than people who think they've got it all together and they don't need to grow anymore! People who think they've learnt it all and that they don't need to learn anymore! MAN...all I have to say to you if that's you is...GET OVER YOURSELF!! It's NOT about you!!! We're not here for OURSELVES...we're here to serve the LIVING KING!! So get down on the floor and start serving...start washing feet! Jesus has set us an example. So FOLLOW THAT EXAMPLE!

What does it mean to be 'contrite in spirit'? Lets look at the thesaurus again...other words for contrite...APOLOGETIC...CONSCIENCE-STRICKEN...HUMBLE...SORRY...get the point? Is that your spirit? Do you look at your life and think you never sin and that you have it all figured out? Do you think that you have reached perfection? Well, you need to be contrite in spirit just for having such a stupid thought!! Im sorry if you think I'm being a little harsh, but it just annoys me more than anything when people think they have it all worked out and they don't need work! They couldn't be MORE wrong!! EVERY DAY we sin!! EVERY DAY!! We need to humbly ask God for forgiveness EVERYDAY!! Because we AREN'T perfect! And I'm the first to admit it! That doesn't make me special or great cause I can admit that...it just means that I am a BIG sinner...saved by grace...and in need of MORE work!!

Read God's Word and take it in! Look at it and read it and let it all sink into your heart and spirit! Let the words maranate, if you like. Understand them! You will know when you fully start to understand them because you will start to TREMBLE and FEAR Him! Not a BAD fear...but a fear that says you are in AWE of Him and you know what His power means! You know that you better start taking Him seriously cause otherwise you're in trouble! This is not a 'Get right with God or you're going to HELL' message...this is a 'GET RIGHT WITH GOD' message! Plain and simple! I'm not telling you your judgement cause I don't know it and it's not my judgement to pass...so it's up to you to take the risk or not! He says that He will ESTEEM those who are HUMBLE and CONTRITE IN SPIRIT!! Does He esteem you? Another word for esteem is CHERISH...LOVE...ADMIRE! Isn't that beautiful? YES...God LOVES and CHERISHES you...but at the end of the day, do YOU leave Him room to do that! Are you living up to it?

We serve an awesome God. This is my challenge...have you built Him a house? Does He live in your heart? Where is His dwelling place? Are you humble and contrite in spirit? Do you TRULY know God as the awesome and mighty creator of all things? Get to know Him and get right with Him! However that might be!

Fighting for people to SHUT UP!!!

That's right...Jodi Hoffmann is writing an article to say SHUT UP!! Hard to believe isn't it??...coming from Miss Never-Shuts-Up!! But none the less...here it is!

Well, I've felt very challenged on this of late...since our newest Christian was chatting to me on MSN the other night and was getting fired up about the Army uniform. For you non Army people, we Salvos, as you've seen, wear a uniform...but alot of Salvos don't like the uniform so they sit around and debate about it till the cows come home...and let me tell you...I just wish the damn cows would come home already cause quite frankly Im getting jack of it!! I'm not holding back on this one cause I'm over it!

When I heard our new Christian speaking about these petty issues the other day I felt SO angry and sad at the same time! Now, just to clear this up, I do NOT blame him AT ALL!! He is only new to the Army and a brand new Christian! What saddens me is that of all the things that he needs to be hearing and learning right now, this is what people are sharing with him!! And that, quite frankly, really ticks me off!!!!! Here's a new Christian who's full of excitement and wanting to grow and learn and SO hungry and thirsty for the Word and what are people doing and sharing with him? They're getting him involved in arguments on the uniform and song book songs. RAAARRRR!! It makes me SO cranky!! Here's our chance to disciple him and instead he's being taught how to whinge and debate about STUPID things that have absolutely NO eternal relevance to him (or anyone for that matter) WHATSOEVER!!!!!!

So this is the story...I've grown up in The Salvation Army, and with that I have a certain appreciation, if you like, for the uniform and the song book. Now, just to set this straight, I am not saying that I am a uniform or song book advocate!! Not by any means. I don't think I look at all appealing in the uniform and not all of the Army song book songs appeal to my musical taste and in fact some of them I just don't understand! So I am not about to sit here and debate that Army uniforms and songs are the ONLY way to go! Obviously we are all going to have different tastes and opinions. What annoys me is that, although we are trying to be more relevant in the 21st Century and we are trying to figure out how that's going to happen, at the moment it's all just a big load of hot winded TALK!! Nothing more than just TALK!! I mean, sure, if we get enough people behind the cause and enough people want to change it then maybe there's a chance it will change, but all I see is a whole bunch of people talking and not one person acting!!! So what's the point! Just to sit around and debate menial issues that have no eternal relevance?

MEANWHILE...there's a WHOLE WORLD of lost people out there who need God and here we are all caught up in what we want to change and all caught up in stupid arguments that we're missing the point!! We're obviously missing the point with our new Christian, because he's already debating about these issues and he's been a Christian less than 2 months!! I mean, for real! For goodness sake people...GET OVER IT AND OPEN YOUR EYES!! You know, God is not impressed with our WORDS or our DEBATES...He's commissioned us to go out and make disciples of ALL nations and here we are in our little church circles deciding what to wear and what music to listen to!! I'm sure God is yelling in our ears SHUT UP DAMN IT!!!! (maybe without the damn it...but whatever equivelant He would use to let you know how serious He is!!)

Man, since when did we lose sight of what's really important?! At what point did we shut our ears and eyes to what's really going on in our world? And this is for old and young alike cause the debate stretches across all the ages. The young ones want their songs and their funky clothes and the oldies want to keep singing along to Champaign Charlie and I'm sure most of them would still be in bonnets if they could be. But you know what? WHO CARES!?!?! I can tell you one thing, God certainly doesn't! If He cared about the clothes we were wearing He would have made every church put on the same uniform (just to clear this up, obviously He cares about some clothes...like girls wearing hardly anything for example...let's not get side tracked and carried away with that one...just humour me and get my point!) Now, again, I am not an advocate for uniform...I do believe that we have the best opportunities in the Army to be wearing our uniform so that we're seen in the community. And let me tell you, I could tell you loads of stories to prove it works! The Salvation Army symbol is the 2nd most recognised symbol/icon in Australia! What a privilege!! If you wanna wear the uniform, good on you! I'm proud to wear mine for that EXACT reason! Whether it's appealing or not! If you don't want to wear it, that's fine too...I think the issue here is not what we're wearing...it's what we're doing!

My mate, Pauly, wrote a blog recently about how people are watching what we're doing! I'd be more challenged to think about how I'm behaving in or out of uniform that sets an example to the world. What kind of example are you setting? And if people like our new Christian are watching our example and hanging on what we say cause he's eager to learn and all we're teaching him is 'Hey, come join the church and get into a debate!' then what kind of example are we setting there?!! We're supposed to be set apart and setting an example for the world to follow! Jeremiah 1:5 says:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart..

What are we doing people? God did NOT set us apart for this!! He set us apart to be an example to the world...1 Timothy 4:12 says:

...set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.

And Titus 2:7-8 says this:

In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

What kind of example are we setting here?? Are we showing integrity, seriousness, soundness of speech that cannot be condemned? Are we giving people a reason to speak badly of us? I think we are! There's a whole world of people out there who won't step foot in a church because they've been burnt by the church and they're sick of having arguments. Heck, they can wait till their family Christmas dinner to have a disfunctional argument...why do they need to come to church every week and hear it? That's the message we're giving out! We're not setting an example for believers, let alone non believers, in speech, life, love, faith and purity! Come on, get real!!

Honestly, some of you might be sitting there with your knickers in a knot over this...if so...GOOD! Obviously you needed the challenge! I wasn't commissioned to only ever give you a warm fuzzy feeling...I was commissioned by Christ to make disciples of all nations...and that means CHALLENGING people! Rebuking, correcting...and I need it just as much as you...that's where the Word comes in!

SO...I say...and GOD says...ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! Get OVER it and get ON with it!! Just SHUT UP and start WORKING! There's alot that needs to be done for the Kingdom! So get on with it!

Fighting for the my mum!

Well, I just had an absolutely fantastic weekend at Black Stump!! For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a big Arts, Music and Teaching Christian Festival...same kind of thing as AGMF (for those of you who know what AGMF is! :D ) only it's a bit smaller...there's not as many big bands there...but there's more teaching...which was AWESOME!! Anyway...I was really blessed to be able to go. My church paid for me to go because some of the youth were going. There were 22 of us all up (not all youth...families etc) and it was so great!! Not only was there fantastic music and challenging teaching, but the best part of the weekend was the awesome fellowship the 22 of us had! I've been here 5 months now and it was great to get away with a small group from the church and really spend some great time of fellowship with them! I was really blessed by the whole weekend!

On the way home, however, we stopped for lunch and I got an sms off my dad about my mum's surgery. Just to fill you in, if you're not aware already...my mum has been unwell for a REALLY long time! She has a bad back, bad hips, legs...you name it...she's been through it! She's been told that she will be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life very soon...it's just a waiting game now! It's been really hard on her physically and emotionally and really hard on us emotionally. About 7 years ago she had a surgical procedure done called a Laminectomy, in which an electronic device is implanted into her back to alleviate some of the pain in her back. However, within a year the wires came loose and they took it out. At the start of this year it was put back in. But in May she had a fall and she was in alot of pain...she thought that the device may have gotten damaged...after waiting a month to see a doctor, it was confirmed that the device had infact been damaged, much to her's and our dismay...this meant MORE surgery! So, about 2 months ago she had surgery to fix the device, however, the surgeon wasn't skilled enough, so he closed her up and told her she'd have to wait for a neurosurgeon to finish it. Finally, last week she saw the neurosurgeon and had surgery again...BUT...they messed up! They didn't do it properly! They had to do MORE surgery yesterday (Monday). It was alot more complicated than they expected. The doctor came out extremely exhausted and told dad that he had wanted to give up. There was scar tissue everywhere. He had to cut part of her vertabrae and placed electrodes in. She will be in pain for a while now...it will take up to 3 months or more to heal. We will find out more over the next few days as to whether the surgery worked or not. They've told her that if it doesn't work, there's nothing more they can do for her!

Mum has been through SO much it doesn't seem fair. But, she knows that God has asked her to carry this burden. He's told her to continue to rely on His strength because it's through His strength that she is where she is today. Still alive! God has shared with mum on a number of occassions the verse in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that says

'"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.'

And in Romans 5:3-5 it says

'...we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.'

Let me tell you...that's the hardest thing to do! To rejoice in our sufferings and in our trials. To persevere when your body is so weak and tired and you just want to give up. But mum just hangs in there and relies on the Lord's strength to pull her through...and He always does!!

In writing this blog I want to ask for your prayers! Pray for whatever you feel led to pray for...healing, peace, comfort...whatever God puts on your heart! But please...PRAY!!